Imagine Dragons’ ‘Demons’ Reaches One Billion Views on YouTube

More than a decade after its release, Imagine Dragons’ video for their single, “Demons,” has hit one billion views on YouTube.

The third single from their 2012 album, Night Visions, “Demons” is also the fourth Imagine Dragons song to hit the milestone on YouTube, following “Radioactive” (originally released in 2012), “Believer,” and “Thunder” (both released in 2017). At the time of its release, “Demons” immediately saw worldwide success, landing a top ten spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and remaining there for 12 weeks. It eventually peaked at number 6 on the Hot 100, making it the band’s second top ten single after “Radioactive.” The track also reached no. 1 on the Billboard Pop Songs charts. Within the first two years, it had sold over 4.1 copies in the United States alone, bringing the single into the spotlight as the eighth most downloaded rock song in history. Most recently, “Demons” received a rare Diamond certification by the RIAA in 2021.

The music video flashes between a live performance from the Vegas four-piece and the internal challenges of some of the attendees. Directed by Isaac Halasima, the video itself is dedicated to the late Tyler Robinson whose love of the band inspired them to create the Tyler Robinson Foundation and host an annual gala in his honor. The end of the video features a clip of Robinson sharing a spirited moment with frontman Dan Reynolds at a show.

Reynolds told MTV that the video was meant to showcase the fact that you may not know what someone’s going through and their personal struggles. “When you get to know them, there’s more behind the scenes,” he explained. “We tried to portray that throughout ‘Demons.’ It kind of shows that there’s more going on than what you see when you just meet someone. Everyone has their own demons, their own problems.”

The success of Night Visions and “Demons” only marked the beginning of Imagine Dragons’ path to fame. Since their start in 2008, the band has earned several notable accolades, including a Grammy for “Best Rock Performance,” three American Music Awards, and ten Billboard Music Awards, among many others. Additionally, “Demons” won an iHeart Radio Music Award for “Alternative Rock Song of the Year” in 2014, as well as a BMI Pop Award. Earlier this month, meanwhile, Imagine Dragons released their sixth studio album, Mercury – Act 2.

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